USC student, Depeche Mode enthusiast, sushi consumer

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This summer I was living in Tokyo and working as an intern at the Japan Times. One day my boss asked me if I would go to a festival at the Shinagawa Jinja Shrine to take pictures for a weekend events piece. I took the JR Yamanote line from my office to Shinagawa Station and walked to the shrine through a pleasant neighborhood to the shrine. I am always surprised how quiet parts of Tokyo are, despite being the world’s largest city. I arrived just as the evening’s ceremonies were beginning and took these photos.

There are thousands of shrines all over Tokyo, big and small. Most of them have a festival unique to the specific shrine that happens once a year. The festivals usually include a temple that gets carried around by men as well as other ceremonial activities. Unfortunately, I’m still not as familiar with religion in Japan as I am other aspects of the country.

None of my photos ended up getting used, but the experience was still one of the most memorable in my entire time in Japan!

Lately I’ve been working on picking out some of my best photos in order to put together a formal photography portfolio. Although, as a political scientist, I’ll likely never have a professional need for a photo portfolio, it’ll be nice to be able to showcase my work for friends. Putting together a portfolio has also allowed me to see just how much my abilities have improved since I started taking photos, and get a sense of what my ‘style’ has become.

These first four were taken on my film camera with Kodak Porta 400. I’m getting more and more addicted to film. I put a lot of thought into composing my film pictures and I really enjoy the whole process. The results can be stunning!

This year for Thanksgiving, my family converged on my grandparents’ farm outside of Janesville, Wisconsin. Janesville is a not quite a city, but a little bit too big to be a town. The old downtown is situated on the Rock River which is really pleasant. Recently Janesville was in the news for being the home of vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Much more interestingly it was the home to a large Parker Pen factory that my grandfather managed I always enjoy going back to my grandparents’ farm and seeing them. It’s nice getting away from city life. My grandma grew up in a house just down the road from the farm so she’s literally lived there her whole life which is so interesting. There’s something really relaxing about being in the countryside. I definitely think that when I retire someday, it will be in rural area. Lots of great opportunities for photography!

Meeting up with my family also meant getting to use some of my mom’s lenses. Most of these were taken on a Nikkor 50mm 1.8

The shuttle van dropped me off at LAX painfully early. On the bright side the lighting was excellent! This was the first time I’d flown American Airlines in a while and I was happy with their service, although the seats were a bit cramped.
My Grandparents’ mailbox.
The area around the farm was formed by glaciers, so there’s lots of rolling hills.
Took a ton of pictures of this birdhouse. I really like the selective focus that the 1.8 lens offers.

Tonight I decided to take the train only half way home and walk the rest. I love experimenting with light, movement and exposure. The colors are amazing and you never quite know how it’s going to turn out.

Saturday night I decided to have another go at street photography, and headed up the hill to Roppongi. On weekends the sidewalks are filled with a sea of international club seekers and promoters all too willing to oblige them. The scene is absolutely chaotic, and makes for endless interesting photo opportunities.

私のブログで多くの日本人を見て気づいた。支援をいただき、ありがとうございます！

Huomasin monia suomalaisia ​​katsomaan blogiani. Kiitos tuesta!

This guy stopped me to promote his club. I was surprised he let me take his picture! (and didn’t stick around for him to change his mind)

Very common scene: absorbed in the cell phone.

Casual Ferrari.

Yours truly at the Grand Hyatt Roppongi. (I have a habit of sneaking up to the top floor of expensive hotels to take pictures)

Roppongi is one of the few places in Tokyo I see graffiti. Adds character?